1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a motor performance evaluation apparatus, a motor performance evaluation system, and a motor performance evaluation method for evaluating motor performance of a subject.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the field of life sciences, an approach for evaluating motor performance has heretofore been researched and developed.
For example, Patent Literature 1 (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-101108) discloses a technology capable of evaluating motor performance. Specifically, the technology disclosed in Patent Literature 1 involves making a subject perform a posture changing motion such as a side-to-side twisting motion or a forward bending motion, and measuring an acceleration component and a geomagnetic component while the subject is performing such a motion. Then, the motor performance of the subject is determined from the amount of posture change calculated based on measured results.
Meanwhile, Patent Literature 2 (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-131280) discloses a technology capable of evaluating a mental or psychological state of a subject, although not evaluating motor performance. Specifically, the technology disclosed in Patent Literature 2 involves extracting the height, width, area, or the like of a letter or picture, as a feature value, based on temporal and spatial information on a subject's handwritten letter or hand-drawn picture, and determining the mental or psychological state of the subject from the extracted feature value.
However, the conventional technologies pose problems as given below.
Although being capable of evaluating the motor performance, the technology according to Patent Literature 1 needs the subject to perform the posture changing motion or the like. Thus, a heavy work load is imposed on the subject if the subject is an aged person, a sick person, or the like, for example.
Meanwhile, the technology according to Patent Literature 2 is incapable of evaluating the motor performance of the subject, although this technology is advantageous in terms of reduction in the work load on the subject as compared to the technology according to Patent Literature 1, because of merely making the subject perform the simple work of writing a letter or drawing a picture by hand.
Thus, in the conventional technologies, there has not been established a technology for evaluating the motor performance of the subject while reducing the work load imposed on the subject, and hence there is a desire for a solution to the problems.